Impressive

The high-speed rail project that would allow someone to get on a train in San Fransisco and get off in San Diego got re-planned and re-costed recently:

The California High-Speed Rail Authority released a new business plan Tuesday that stretches out construction time and triples the project's estimated cost.

OK, no problem, I understand that no plan ever comes in on time and under budget when taxpayers foot the bill.  Tripling the cost is troublesome, but progress is never cheap.

Service from San Francisco to Anaheim was originally scheduled to begin in 2020 but that could be put off until 2034, with other parts of the system completed first.

Wow, we're not going to see this thing at work until I'm in my 60's.  But they're at least making progress on the shorter legs already, aren't they?

Even before the first shovel of dirt has turned, the cost estimates have nearly tripled.

Are you kidding me?  You've tripled your costs to almost $100 billion, don't expect this thing to be useful until my grandchildren are out of college, and you haven't even started digging yet?

I must say, I'm impressed.  This is incompetence on a scale that boggles the mind.  You're looking to spend billions upon billions of our dollars over the next two and a half decades so that someone can go from the Embarcadero to DisneyLand.  

These 'planners' need to be either pilloried or put up for a medal.  It must take a lifetime of "How can I screw the taxpayer today?" to come up with a scheme like this.  My hat is off to them.  I'm really interested to see if the taxpayers in California get out their torches and pitchforks over this.

And if I'm overwhelmed by this, I can't wait to see the cost in money and time it will take for Obama's proposed fast rail system between large cities in the mid-west.  The over/under is probably 30 years and $1 trillion.  Anyone want a piece of that action?